For the Love of Fangs
by thatgirlwhowrites1020
Summary: Matt can't handle all the supernatural drama going on in Mystic Falls, so he decides to leave.  Little does he know he's about to encounter a lot more than vampires in his new town... AU. OC's
1. Chapter 1

Preface:

I thought I'd finally escaped it, the whole supernatural thing. I mean how many pointy-toothed bloodsuckers can there be in the world? Apparently a lot. It's not like they were all bad, the vampires. Stefan I respected and Caroline… well I still managed to kiss her right? I didn't run away because I was scared of them, I was just tired of the drama surrounding them. I have enough problems of my own to deal with and I don't need issues of the sangre sucking variety to pile on too. So I packed up and left, off to a better place. But this better place just so happened to be in the middle of an underworld creature party and let's just say I didn't lose my invite in the mail…

**Chapter 1: The Toughest Goodbye**

It was bright and sunny in Mystic Falls as I threw my backpack of T-shirts and jeans into the back of my truck. For such a gloomy place filled with disaster and death, the weather seemed so uplifting. I squinted as I stared at my house for the final time. It seems like just yesterday my mom drunkenly walked down those front porch steps or Vicki climbed up into my bedroom window, too high to realize it wasn't her room. _What great memories_ I thought to myself as I turned the key in the ignition. It wasn't as if there weren't good memories in that house, baking cookies with Elena or lounging on the couch with Caroline. But everything was different now, so different that even the best of memories seemed to be clouded with a haze of disappointment. Elena had Stefan now. And Caroline… well she had an eternal life filled with blood and inhuman strength. Elena and Caroline had other things to worry about now, Matt was no longer a priority. But that's just the way it always went. Matt hadn't been a priority with his mother, his father, or his sister. Matt had barely been a priority with himself.

"The pity party ends now," Matt said to himself as he turned up the radio. _Sweet Home Alabama_ came blasting through his speakers. Matt hadn't exactly thought out where he was escaping to, but he took this song as a sign of fate. Alabama it was.

_Sweet Home Alabama, where the skies are so blue._

_Sweet Home Alabama, Lord I'm coming home to you. _

He muttered the lyrics to himself as he imagined his potential life there. He could get a job at a quaint restaurant and live in a small apartment or rent a bedroom from some sweet old lady. He'd make friends, maybe help coach one of the youth football league teams. Then he'd meet a girl, a normal girl. A purely human girl with purely human dreams and they'd get married and live a purely human life. Maybe it'd take a few years to get all of these things he wanted, but eventually he'd get them all, even the girl. The first step was this, leaving Mystic Falls. He pressed on the gas pedal a little harder, solidifying that he was leaving this damned place. Then he heard the sound of a siren and saw a familiar face behind the wheel of an old cop car. It was Sheriff Forbes. Of course he'd been stupid in assuming that he could speed pass Caroline's house without encountering either her or her mother. Though he'd sincerely hoped the encounter would be less of a ticket-giving kind.

"License and registration plea- Matt? Why were you going so fast back there!" Sheriff Forbes said to me as I rolled down my window.

"Sorry Mrs. Forbes, I guess I was just spacing out a little."

"Where are you going Matt? You seem to have a lot in the back there" she questioned.

"Well…" What am I supposed to say? 'I decided your daughter's vampirism is too much for me to handle, but I'm glad it doesn't bother you. By the way, I'm skipping town?' That probably wouldn't go over too well. "I'm leaving town for a couple of weeks, gonna visit some places down South" I replied cooly.

"Oh, I see. Well I let you off the hook this time, only because I've known you for so long and this is out of normal behavior for you. Drive safe and have a good trip Matt! I hope to see you in my living room when you get back!" She replied, smiling at the idea that maybe her vampire daughter could still have a normal boyfriend.

"Yeah sure. Thanks" I said, knowing quite well I would never be back in this town, let alone in my ex-girlfriend's living room anytime soon.

I rolled up my window and slowly pulled away from the side of the road. I turned the stereo back up, this time _Life in the Fast Lane_ was playing. How appropriate. I sang along and thought about the long drive in front of me. I'd picked a state, but I had no idea what town I was going to.

"Let's see… How about a town that has nothing to do with anything magical or supernatural? That sounds like a start!" I said to myself bitterly. Why was I so bothered by everything? It wasn't like Caroline chose to be a vampire. It wasn't like Elena chose to fall in love with one. Yet, here I stood, or really sat, angry at both of them. Mad that they had chosen a life so very different from the one I thought we'd have back when we used to play on the swings or eat cookies together after school. Why couldn't they have stayed normal like me? And why was it that I was the one stuck leaving when I was the only one who hadn't changed?

"It's alright," I told myself, "once I get out of here, once I'm somewhere new, the past won't matter so much." It might have been a lie, but it comforted me nonetheless.

Then _More Than A Feeling_ by Boston came on. It's as if this radio station knew exactly what I was doing today.

_And I dream of a girl I used to know,_

_I closed my eyes and she slipped away._

Caroline. God I missed her. I missed every last neurotic thing about her. And even though she seemed the same, she wasn't. At least not to me anymore. It's true that she was still here, walking the earth. But she was dead to me. And that's what bothered me the most, that I loved her so much but never enough to look past the fact she was a vampire now. I know it's not her fault she changed, I know that its my fault we aren't together and happy. Yet somehow, I still blame her for everything. I guess it must be a defense mechanism or something.

Matt let his mind wander for the next few hours. Every bad thought brought him closer to turning around and trying to fix everything or stepping on the gas and getting as far away as possible. He wasn't quite as sure he was making the right choice the further he went. Although his resolve faltered a few times, it never faded enough to keep him from pressing on. To keep him from his new dream, a happy human life in Alabama.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: The Friendliest Town**

Matt had been driving for ten hours straight. He hadn't even stopped to pee or grab a bite to eat. So when he passed by a sign that read, "Welcome to Luverne, the Friendliest Town in the South!" he figured he might have reached his destination. That, and his bladder was quite full and his stomach was quite empty.

"Luverne... Huh. I guess this'll be home." Matt drove around the town square and smiled at the shops and people laughing on the sidewalk. There was a beautiful, lush, green park in the middle of the square, filled with daisies and little kids running in and out of the magnificent fountain in the park's center. It looked like a scene straight out of a movie. It was everything Matt was looking for. It had sunshine, smiles, and most importantly, everyone looked rather human. He followed an old, faded sign that read "Boarders Wanted" to a victorian house that, despite its chipping paint, looked glorious. He parked his beaten up truck in the driveway and walked up to the double glass doors that served as the main entrance to the house. There was an ornate gold doorbell on the left side, and just as he was about to ring it, an old man opened the door.

"Well hello there, son. How can I help you?" The old man asked with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Hi, I'm Matt and I, uh, saw the sign that you needed boarders and I was wondering if I could stay here." Matt replied as he looked the man up and down. He was dressed in a pair of khaki's, a white button up shirt, and a bright blue cardigan that matched the flecks of blue in his otherwise amber colored eyes. Matt could tell that the old man had been handsome in his youth, and noticed the wrinkles around his eyes that proved the man had laughed and smiled a lot in his life. He instantly liked the man.

"Well, yes, we are looking for boarders. The rent is $1,000 a month and you get your own bedroom and bathroom, and full use of the kitchen and grounds."

Matt thought about it. $1,000 was kind of steep, especially considering he hadn't even found a job yet. But he really did like the old man, he felt like they had a grandfather to grandson connection already. Which he thought was crazy considering they had just met, but it was how he felt nonetheless. The old man noticed Matt's hesitation.

"Have you a job, boy? Because this estate is in a bit of disrepair and I could always use a strapping young lad like yourself to clean it all up."

"Really?" Matt asked. He was excited at the man's kindness, though not necessarily surprised by it.

"Well, if you think you can take on the job..." The old man asked with a toothy grin.

"Yes, sir. I definitely think I can."

"Alright, then it's settled. You'll start by painting the house. Your board will be free so long as there is still work to do on the property. Now come on in and meet everyone."

"Everyone?" Matt hadn't realized that there would probably be other boarders besides himself. But the thought of living with a lot of other people excited him. He had never had that at home, with his mom always leaving and Vicky always out somewhere partying. The idea of constantly having other people around, even if it was just to argue about what TV show to watch, was a nice change. Matt went back out to his car, grabbed his bag, and practically skipped up the steps to the house. Everything was coming together flawlessly.

Matt nearly toppled over the old man on his way through the door.

"Woah there, sonny boy, in a rush?"

"Sorry, I just didn't want to keep everyone waiting..." Matt replied, his cheeks flushed red with embarrassment.

"It's no problem at all boy. I'm Eugene Cratz by the way. And this lovely lady over here is my granddaughter, Nina."

Matt looked over at the girl. She had brilliantly blue eyes, the color of the ocean's waves out in the Mediterranean. She had dark, raven colored hair that framed her face in gorgeously abundant curls. She was absolutely stunning, almost perfect. Except above her right eye there was a jagged, nasty looking scar that shot upwards all the way to her hairline. Matt couldn't help but stare at it.

"What, never seen a scar before? Rude much." Nina spat at him and turned around, stomping back to her room.

"I apologize for my granddaughter's behavior. She is quite self-conscious about her injury."

"No, its fine. I was being rude." Matt felt bad. He hadn't meant to star, its just that the scar looked so intense. It looked so painful even though it seemed healed. It looked so inhuman! Oh god, not again. He wasn't in some supernatural zone again, with monsters that go bump in the night and apparently try and attack nice old man's daughters. He had to find out where she'd gotten that scar, because if it was from anything like what he was thinking, he needed to get the hell out of the "Friendliest Town in the South".

"Alright, Matt, this young woman over here is Clara and this is her fiancee, Jamie."

"Nice to meet you, Matt"

"Yeah, nice to have another guy in the house!" Clara was small, with reddish brown hair, freckles, and sparkling green eyes. She had a girl next door kind of beauty about her. Jamie was as tall as Clara was short. He had muscular arms, but the rest of him was rather lanky. He had sandy blonde hair that was cropped short, and dark brown eyes. Both of them looked really nice, but Matt couldn't stop thinking about Nina and her scar.

"Nice to, uh, meet you guys too."

"Well come here Matt, I'll show you to your room." Eugene started going up the spiraled staircase to the second floor. He had almost reached the second level before Matt snapped out of his curiosity and followed him up the stairs. Eugene led Matt to the second door on the left of the hallway.

"This room will be yours. Nina's is across the hall, and this door on the left of you is the bathroom. I hope you'll like it here. You can start the house work tomorrow morning."

"Where do Clara and Jamie live?" Matt asked, trying to create conversation to avoid the intense thinking session that was about to take place in his new room.

"They live on the ground floor, first door on the left. And I live next to them. Feel free to visit whenever you like, I really do wish you would. Dinner will be served in about an hour. Make yourself at home." And with that, Eugene closed the door, leaving Matt to contemplate how to figure out how Nina had gotten that awful scar...


	3. Chapter 3

**1: So I absolutely love that I made a character Nina after Nina Dobrev... well sort of. haha**

**2: I'm writing this chapter so closely after the last one because I'm going to be gone for two weeks and won't be able to update. :(**

**3: I think I've got a decent (?) idea of where the story might go, but I'd really love some reviews to help finalize it. Thanks! :)**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3: The Scar That Never Heals<strong>

Matt paced around the room. He was being stupid. She'd probably just fallen when she was little or gotten in a really bad car crash. It wasn't anything supernatural. He was making assumptions because of everything that had happened in Mystic Falls. There wasn't anything mysterious and crazy going on here. This was a happy little town, it was going to be _his_ happy little town.

Matt began to actually survey the room. It had a queen size bed with a faded peach comforter. The walls were covered in peeling white and peach rose wall paper and there was a beaten-up armoire in the corner. Overall, the room was incredibly out of date and girly. Matt would definitely have to do something to fix this. He glanced around the room again and noticed the only window had a crack in the glass on the upper left side. The jaggedness of the crevasse immediately reminded him of Nina. He was instantly brought back to pondering how she got that scar. It had to be something supernatural. At least if it was Mystic Falls it definitely would have been something supernatural. But here, in Luverne, it could be any mundane thing in the world.

"I really need to stop this or I'll go crazy." Matt muttered to himself.

"Crazier." A voice responded from his doorway.

Matt looked up. Leaning in the doorframe was Nina. She was wearing an old pair of jeans and an Aerosmith t-shirt that had holes in it. Her hair was piled on top of her head. Every strand had been pinned back, making her scar that much more noticeable. She was clearly testing him.

"I don't know about that, you've just met me. How would you know about my sanity or lack there of?" Matt decided the best way to handle this girl was to be witty. Being apologetic would probably just piss her off further. Plus, who the hell was she to call him crazy? She'd just met him. Granted he'd stared at her scar, but who the hell wouldn't?

"Just a hunch. Anyway, Eugene sent me up here to tell you dinner was ready."

"Oh, right. I'll come down right now."

Matt followed Nina down the stairs to the dining room. It was a long, narrow room with a deep oak table ornately decorated with a bright yellow table cloth. Despite the table's fancy appearance, the food laying on top of it was hot dogs, macaroni and cheese, and broccoli.

"I know it's not the most exquisete display of food ever, but it's pretty much what we eat around here." Clara said with a smile.

"Yeah, no sense tricking you into thinking we eat caviar and fine cheeses every night, eh?" Jamie elbowed Matt in the ribs jokingly as he said it.

"It's fine, better than the pizza I ordered almost every night in my hometown."

"Where was that exactly anyway?" Nina asked pointedly. She clearly didn't like him.

"Oh, uh, Mystic Falls. In Virginia. It's a small town." Matt replied, trying hard not to be shaken by her obvious disdain towards him. They'd just met, how could she already dislike him so much?

"Hm, never heard of it." And with that Nina flopped down into her seat. Taking this as their cue to dig in, Jamie and Clara sat down and began serving themselves.

"Where's Eugene?" Matt asked, he felt bad starting to eat before the old man had even sat down.

"I'm right here, no worries." Eugene came in carrying a platter of chocolate chip cookies. He set it down on the table and took the seat in between Jamie and Nina, at the head of the table. Now the only seat open was between Clara and Nina. Matt gulped, nervous about Nina's reaction to him sitting so close to her, and sat down. The dinner went well. Clara was sweet and Jamie was the master of wise cracks. Matt had never tasted hot dogs or macaroni and cheese so good in his life. Eugene and Clara obviously made quite the cooking pair, even if it was only simple things that they made. The chocolate chip cookies were probably the best part of the meal. They were crispy on the outside, but ooey gooey on the inside, with melted chocolate oozing from every bite. The meal would have been absolutely perfect if it hadn't been for Nina's deadly silence. She barely even touched her food and every look in his direction was filled with such venom that Matt nearly fell over from the hatred in her eyes. She looked so furious at his presence that the second Matt finished his cookies, he excused himself and went up to his room.

What was up with that girl? Matt was a nice guy, he'd always prided himself in that. But she, she was acting like an absolute monster! And not even the type with fangs or claws that he had become semi-accustomed to in Mystic Falls. No, she was a downright bitch. And for what? He still hadn't even done anything. God, were girls always this confusing? She acted like he had wronged her, seriously wronged her. But he hadn't, and her clear hatred of him bothered him a lot.

"I didn't even do anything." Matt whispered to himself.

"Don't be so sure of that." It was Nina again, standing in his doorway.

"Knocking, ever heard of it?" Matt was mad. She seemed to hate him oh so much yet she could spy on him whenever she felt like it? Not okay.

"Oh, I thought you didn't have to knock when you've known someone forever." Nina said, with a playful fire in her eyes.

"Known someone forever? What are you talking about? I just met you today. I think I'd remember a-"

"Girl with a giant scar across her face? Yeah, you'd think you would. But I haven't always had this scar. Do you remember that girl?" Nina was obviously toying with him. Whatever it was she knew, he had no idea. Maybe they'd been nursery school friends and he'd thrown dirt at her? Could that be why she hated him?

"Uhm..." Matt was uncomfortable. Why wouldn't she just come out with it already.

"Still nothing? Geez, they weren't kidding when they said jock types were thick. I'll give you a hint, 1864."

1864? What the hell? Obviously he hadn't even been alive then. And wasn't that the year Damon and Stefan had been turned...? Oh no, oh hell no. This was not happening. This was not some supernatural vortex town that he'd stumbled into yet again. Nina picked up on Matt's change in expression.

"Ah, he finally figures it out. Well at least part of it. No Matt, you can't escape the supernatural world. It's tied to your being and has been for the last 145 years. Not that you remember it all."

What was she talking about? Tied to his being? And how could he remember it? He was 18, not 145 or whatever. This girl must be delusional... or he was hallucinating.

"Poor wittle Matt, always the last to figure it all out. Well let me give you a quick refresher course." Nina's eyes turned red and veiny and fangs began to protrude from her mouth.

"No Matt, you can't escape the supernatural world at all."

"You're a, a vampire!"

"Well aren't you just the most observant kid on the planet? Gold star for you today Matty! Yes, I'm a vampire. But you should know that, considering you're the reason I became one!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: The Nightmare on Elm Street**

Matt woke up in a cold sweat, with the blankets entangled around his legs like a cocoon. His heart was beating fast enough to compete in the Kentucky Derby. He switched the light on in his room. Everything looked completely normal.

"Just a dream, it was just a dream," Matt comforted himself by whispering. But even that statement wasn't sitting quite well with him. It had seemed so realistic. But it couldn't possibly be real, he had woken up in his bed. The only logical assumption would be that it was a dream, or really, a nightmare.

Matt squinted, he could just make out the sunrise through his window. He decided that after that dream, sleep wasn't going to come back to him. He got out of bed and began pulling jeans on. Better to start his work early, when it was still relatively cool outside, then to wait for the blazing heat that would certainly arrive around noon. After lacing up his sneakers, Matt quietly crept out of his room, praying that he wouldn't wake up Nina and further her wrath on him. As he reached the kitchen, he noticed Eugene was already up, reading the morning paper and drinking coffee.

"Good morning Matt, looking to get an early start on house painting?" Eugene said happily.

"Er, yes. I am. Where is the paint by the way?"

"Well, unfortunately we don't have any, so you'll just have to go out and buy some. Don't worry though, I'll give you the money."

"Oh, thanks. Where exactly can I get this paint?"

Eugene chuckled, "Right, I've forgotten already that you haven't been in town really. Seems like you've been apart of the family forever though, eh? There's a paint store on the corner of Elm and Buddington Avenue. Just take a left out of here, go straight until you pass a great big church, and it should be on your right."

Matt quickly memorized these instructions, grabbed his keys, and was about to set off when Eugene said, "Aren't you going to have breakfast?"

Normally Matt would just skip breakfast in the hopes of getting his task done quicker. But Eugene looked so nice and lonely sitting there at the breakfast table that Matt couldn't turn him down.

"Oh, right. What do you have?"

"Well, we have a vast assortment of cereals over there in the cabinet..." Eugene pointed to the dark oak door just above the stove.

"Cereal will do!" Matt said, he didn't want to cook anything and he definitely didn't want the old man to have to make anything for him. He scanned the boxes all stacked neatly next to each other. All the way on the left side it was waiting for him, his favorite cereal of all time, Fruity Pebbles! He gleefully took the box down and found the bowls piled in the glass cabinet to the right. As he poured himself milk and grabbed a spoon, he heard Eugene speak up.

"Fruity Pebbles, huh? That's Nina's favorite too!" Eugene smiled at this, as though the prospect of Nina and I's shared cereal taste would mend the animosity between us.

"Oh well, erm, it's a good cereal." Matt wasn't sure what to make of this. Anyone who liked Fruity Pebbles couldn't be purely evil right? Then a horrible thought struck him. What if Nina freaked out on him for eating her cereal? He could see it now, him carrying buckets of paint out of his truck and Nina stomping down the front steps, yelling at him for wasting any of her precious cereal on his worthless existence. Matt unintentionally groaned.

"You alright?" Eugene asked, the concern flickering across his face.

"Just fine." Matt said as he quickly finished his cereal, stashed the bowl in the sink, and grabbed his keys for the second time.

"I'm gonna head out now." Matt smiled and walked out the front door into the glorious sunshine that was already streaming through the trees.

Matt pulled out of the driveway, happy to be starting work soon, and happy to have avoided Nina so thoroughly so far this morning.

He followed Eugene's directions and found the paint store easily. As he got out of his car, he realized he had never asked if Eugene wanted the same color paint or a new one. He considered going back but decided it would be easier to just return the paint later if he chose wrong. He walked into the store, the familiar sound of a bell dinging, alerting the employees a customer just came in. Sure enough, about five seconds after the ding, a heavy, middle-aged woman with short, auburn hair came walking over to him.

"Hello, my name is Darla. What can I help you with today?" Darla said with a sweet, syrupy smile.

"I need some house paint." Matt paused. He could just ask for white, that was the color of the house already. But something told him to pick a different color, one that fit the personality of Eugene a little better.

"Do you have any light lapis lazuli-like colors?" Matt picked this color based off of the flecks of blue he'd seen in Eugene's eyes. Plus, the color was breathtaking, all the better to fit the breathtaking Victorian house.

"Why yes, in fact we do. Not that popular of a color around these parts though." Darla said as she hustled off to the other corner of the store. Matt frowned as he followed her. If it wasn't a popular color, maybe Eugene wouldn't like it. Matt shook his head. Something told him that Eugene would love the color.

"Here are the swatches we have, these are all the different shades." Darla handed Matt three strips of paper that had three colors each on them. After scanning the different shades for a few minutes, Matt picked the medium lapis lazuli.

"I'll take this one right here." Matt pointed to his choice and smiled. He knew he had made the right decision.

"Alright, how many buckets?" Darla asked as she walked over to the paint stirrer. Matt thought, to paint an entire room it took about two buckets of paint, so to paint the entire huge Victorian house, well that'd probably take about twenty right?

"I'll take twenty." Matt said with confidence.

Darla looked at him, obviously taken aback.

"What do you plan on painting boy?"

"The old Victorian house by-"

"Old Eugene's house? Glad someone's finally fixing that place up. It's a real beauty, it's a shame its in such disrepair, been that way for awhile too."

Matt nodded, grabbed some paint rollers as well, and handed Darla the money he owed her. It took him seven trips to get all the paint out to the car. Finally, with stiff fingers and an aching back, he started his engine and made his way back to the house.

As he pulled into the driveway ten minutes later, he saw Nina standing in his parking spot, obviously waiting for him.

"She's probably pissed about the stupid Fruity Pebbles" Matt said to himself, unaware of his open window.

"You ate my Fruity Pebbles!" Nina said with a scowl.

"Eugene said I could have-" But Matt didn't get to finish.

"I don't care what Eugene said, stay away from my Fruity Pebbles! And that's not the reason I came over here. I wanted to know what paint color you chose." Nina said, mischief dancing in her gorgeously teal eyes. Matt hopped out of the car, which surprised Nina, but only for a second. He opened the back seat, grabbed one of the paint buckets, and showed her the bright blue stripe painted on the top.

"It's lapis lazuli." Matt said with pride. Nina's eyes widened, but only for a second.

"Good choice." She said. Her compliment shocked Matt so much he nearly toppled over from surprise. He managed to get out a "Thanks" before beginning to slowly pile all the paint buckets by the left side of the house. That was where he was going to start.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five: The Beginning of a Lie**

Matt worked tirelessly painting the house. At noon he'd finished half of the left side. He wiped the accumulating sweat off of his forehead. It was so damn hot out. As he was taking his shirt off, he heard footsteps.

"Not bad." He heard Nina's voice, unable to see her with the shirt over his eyes. He tossed his shirt in the only area of grass that wasn't splattered with paint.

"What do you want?" Matt narrowed his eyes. Nina's newfound kindness, if that's what you could call it, towards him was unnerving.

"Eugene told me to call you in for lunch. Jeez, calm down." Nina trotted away, a cunning smile flashing across her face.

Matt wiped his face a final time, picked up his shirt, and headed inside. Sitting at the table were Clara and Jamie. Jamie had a look of concern on his face and Clara's was stained with tears. Upon seeing Matt, they quickly changed their demeanor. But this change didn't happen before Matt noticed that something was clearly wrong.

"What's up guys?" Matt looked from Clara to Jamie. Clara smiled weakly at him.

"Nothing honey." Jamie glanced at Clara quickly, then shook his head.

"I know he's new here Clara, but we can't hide it from him forever."

Matt was really confused. Did this have something to do with his dream? Had he unknowingly stepped into a house full of vampires? He was seriously worried.

"Fine Jamie, do whatever you want. You always do." Clara stormed out of the room.

"Sorry you had to see that, Matt."

Matt was still severely baffled.

"Uh, it's fine. But what was that about?" Matt needed answers now, as in right now.

"Clara's pregnant." Jamie said matter-of-factly. He said it so lightly that if Matt hadn't been paying careful attention he might have missed the look of utter fear and worry then played across his face for a fraction of a second.

"Anyway, I'm not exactly read for, you know, uh, a big commitment like that. So when she told me three days ago, I may have done something bad."

Matt didn't know why Jamie was telling him all of this, but a part of him liked it. Not that Jamie was upset, but that Jamie trusted Matt enough to share this with him.

"Oh man dude, what did you do?"

"I drank, a lot. I mean like a bottle of Rum a lot. And I went out into town... and when I woke up, well I wasn't in me and Clara's bed..."

Matt's jaw dropped involuntarily. Jamie had cheated on Clara? After he found out she was having his baby? This was bad. This was really bad.

"That's probably the exact opposite of good. Who's bed did you end up in? Do you know the girl?"

"Well, and please don't yell at me, it was my ex-girlfriend from high school, Kat."

Matt couldn't believe it. He might have only known Jamie for a little over a day, but this seemed out of character. Then again, his judge of character was lacking. I mean, look how long it took him to figure out Stefan, Damon, and Caroline's secret.

"That's really bad Jamie."

"I know, I know. I just told Clara. And she's mad, pissed beyond belief. And I can't blame her, I mean I fucked up. I fucked up big. But I love her, I love her so much and I can't lose her."

"Well, you've got some serious ass-kissing to do to get her back."

"No kidding. But the thing is, I don't remember it. I don't remember anything from that night. I wouldn't have even remembered drinking the bottle of rum if I hadn't found it in my car when I was leaving Kat's house. And I know that it's no excuse, but it has to count for something? I would never consciously cheat on Clara, never."

Matt felt bad for Jamie. Granted, he'd made a huge mistake, but he obviously regretted it and if he didn't even remember doing it... Uh oh. Memory loss? That sounded an awful lot like compulsion. Matt's heart dropped a little. Maybe there was a vampire in this town and they were trying to break up Jamie and Clara. But that didn't make any sense. How could Jamie and Clara have pissed off a vampire so badly that they would want to mess up their relationship? Matt was going crazy again. Vampires? Here? That was ridiculous. This was obviously a case of blackout drunk. Matt had experienced it enough himself, first with Tyler, then after finding out what Caroline was. That's what happened. It was awful that it did, awful for Jamie and his guilt, and especially awful for Clara, but still much better than vampires being involved.

"Yeah, it does make a difference, but I wouldn't be bringing that up to Clara anytime soon. No matter what you preface that statement with, she's gonna think you're making an excuse where one can't really be made."

"Yeah, I know. Well, it looks like I've kept you from lunch and house painting long enough. Your sandwich is over there. Thanks for the talk." Jamie half-smiled and patted Matt on the back. Matt smiled back. He was glad he was going to have a real friend here in Luverne. He happily bit into his sandwich, then grimaced. Ham and cheese. Ick. He'd always hated ham. Just as he was about to nonchalantly spit the bite up into the potted plant beside him, Nina spoke,

"Ham not your favorite?"

She had an uncanny ability of showing up when he was doing something embarrassing.

"Not exactly." Matt managed to get out as he spit it out in his napkin.

"I always tell Eugene to stop buying it because it's gross, but Clara and Jamie love it, so we always get stuck getting it."

Matt nodded. Why was she trying to talk to him? What happened to the girl that had evil glared at him the entire meal the night before?

"Well anyway, if you want something else, there's a few apples in the fridge." Nina hastily scooped up a file of papers that had been laying across the counter that Matt hadn't seen, and practically ran up the stairs to her room. What a strange girl, Matt thought as he grabbed an apple out of the fridge. Red delicious, his favorite. He took a bite out of it and wondered when his life would cease to be odd.

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><p>Sorry for the shorter update, I'm going to try and write a longer chapter for Thursday. Other characters from TVD will be joining the story soon.<p>

As always, review and give me feedback and ideas! I'd love to hear your opinions. :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: The Reign of Terror**

It was four o'clock when Matt finished painting the left side of the house. Considering he had worked alone all day, this was a major feat. He was absolutely bone tired when he trudged up the front steps into the partially blue Victorian home. As he entered, he saw Nina quickly dashing back into her room, her dark brown curls boinging with every step. Matt thought about her new-found kindness towards him and her apparent need to rush everywhere and became curious about her once again. There certainly was something strange about that girl.

Matt began to ascend the stairs, his knees and back aching with every movement. When he finally made it to the top, he entered his room, grabbed clothes and a towel, and almost crawled to the bathroom. He eagerly stepped into the shower, letting the water wash away the paint and dirt that had accumulated on him over the past few hours. The hot steam that practically erupted from the shower head did wonders on his sore body, making him feel almost as good as new. As he turned the faucet off, he grabbed his towel and got changed. Feeling refreshed, he made his way back to his room for a little R&R before dinner.

He laid down on his bed, hearing the distinct creak it made every time he got on it. Just as he was about to drift off into slumber, he heard something. A scream. An absolutely blood-curdling scream that sent shivers up his spine and made all the hairs on his body stand on edge. He could hear choked words streaming out of the room next door, "Katherine! No, stop!" He jumped out of bed and bounded towards Nina's room. Something way back in his memory told him the scream belonged to her. He practically slammed into her door, ready to save her at any cost.

"Matt?" Nina gasped, momentarily shocked at the terrified expression on his face.

"What are you doing here? After all the shit you gave me about not knocking! WHAT DO YOU WANT?"

Matt was taken aback. He was so certain he'd heard screaming, so certain he'd heard _her_ screaming.

"I, uh, just thought I heard something, someone."

"Well you probably did, _in your head._ Anyway, I'm really busy and could definitely do without rude intrusions from the likes of you." And with that, Nina shooed Matt out of the room and slammed the door in his face. He could've sworn he heard Nina's laughter from behind the oak door, but this was probably another product of his imagination.

Matt slowly walked back to his room. Had he really imagined that? Maybe he'd dozed off and not realized it. Maybe he was becoming a sleepwalker. Or maybe Nina had something to hide. Either way, Matt was going to have to do some investigating of his own.

It seemed like Matt had only been pondering Nina's potential secrets for a few minutes when he was already being called down to dinner by Clara. As Matt walked into the kitchen, the silent hatred coming from Clara and Nina nearly knocked him over. Clara was passing out the food, practically slamming the dish down in front of Jamie, while Nina was doing her usual, death glaring Matt with every last villainous face she could think of. Matt and Jamie exchanged a worried, knowing look, silently agreeing that they were both in some deep shit. The meal lacked all conversation, due to the combination of Clara and Nina's anger and the fact that Eugene was out to dinner with his old childhood friend, Gregory. After fifteen minutes of this hostile silence, Matt decided he'd had enough. Perhaps Clara's anger with Jamie was justified but Nina had no right to be as mad at Matt as she was. After all, he had thought at the time he was saving her life, something that he deeply regretted now. Maybe it'd be better if she just up and died. Matt shook his head, he didn't want her dead, just less evil maybe.

"So Jamie, how was your day?" Matt asked, smiling in Nina's direction as he did so. He knew this would make her mad. Jamie nearly fell out of his chair in surprise from the sudden conversation starter.

"Uh, my day was fine. Normal boring day at the office. How'd house painting go?" Jamie expertly averted Clara's eyes while speaking. He resembled a puppy who knew it had done something wrong.

"It went well, I finished the left side of the house."

"The whole left side!" Jamie asked, letting his astonishment thoroughly break the air of gloom hanging around the kitchen.

"Yeah, I was working all day. Though at this rate, I don't know how long Eugene can keep me employed fixing up this place." As Matt said this, the front door opened and in stepped Eugene.

"This place needs a lot more than a coat of paint Matt." Eugene smiled and laid his coat across the counter. Matt was amazed that the old man had worn a coat in this weather, though old people did tend to get colder a lot quicker. Upon her grandfather's entrance, Nina perked up a little. Even Clara took a break from frowning at Jamie.

"How was Gregory's?" Nina asked, smiling at Eugene in a way Matt had never seen her smile before... Yet it still somehow looked familiar...

"It was quite lovely Nina. Though I'm sad to say Gregory has become rather ill. But that will be a story for tomorrow, however, because I am rather pooped, as you might say, and am going to bed straight away." Eugene turned the corner and a few seconds later Matt heard the door to his bedroom slowly click into place. The second that Eugene left, the room returned to its icy cold state. Any progress Matt had made by starting up conversation with Jamie had now been eradicated due to Eugene's entrance and exit. Nina got up suddenly, cleared her plate, and once again, dashed off to her room. Matt was left to think about what a strange girl Nina was and wondered what she was constantly so excited to get back to in her room, not to mention curious about what that file was that she had sneakily picked up before he could look at it. As Clara began to get up to clear her plate, Jamie got up alongside her, obviously attempting to talk to her. Matt took this as his que to leave, and began his climb up the stairs back to his room.

Matt was going to find out Nina's secret, even if he had to devote serious time to stalking her. Matt shut his bedroom door behind him and was about to hatch a plot when he heard a noise on his left. He turned quickly, only to come face to face with a gorgeous girl with long, brown hair and dark brown eyes.

"Elena." He breathed. He was surprised to see her, but the sight of her didn't fill him with it's usual happiness.

"Do I really look that much like that twit? It's Katherine, Matt."

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><p>Katherine finally makes her appearance! I have much in store for this story, but I definitely could use some feedback andor any ideas on where you think I should take it because nothing is set in stone yet. Hope you enjoy! :)


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: The History Lesson**

"Ka-Katherine?" Matt croaked as his left hand began groping for the doorknob.

"The one and only." She said with a smirk. "Ah, ah, ah, Matty. There's no escaping this room right now." She had Matt in a headlock in less than a second. "Now, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Which will it be?"

Matt scanned the room quickly, looking for something to turn into a stake or anything that might get him out of this situation. Matt looked to no avail. It appeared as if he would have to deal with this little conversation for the time being.

"Tick tock, tick tock. I don't have all day Matt. Just because I'll live forever doesn't mean I like having my time wasted." Matt's throat, which was nearly collapsing under the pressure Katherine was exerting on it, felt slightly better as she loosened her grip.

"Well that depends, what is the easy way?" Matt said through clenched teeth.

"Ah, I thought you'd never ask. Well the easy way, is you do a tiny favor for me, then I leave you alone for eternity..."

"And the hard way?" Matt asked, swallowing the blood tinged saliva pooling in his throat.

"The hard way, well, it's not pretty. Let's just say it involves digging up the past and quite a few vampires... Altogether a rather sticky situation. I'd chose the easy way, it's definitely better for _you_." She emphasized the last word and gave Matt a sly smile before pushing him onto his bed. Matt shook his head and tried to regain normal thought process. He fought the urge to massage his neck, not wanting to show any weakness to Katherine.

"When you say it's easier for me... Who isn't it easy for?"

"So, the jock catches on. Beauty and brains... Makes me wonder why Elena would chose the Salvatore brothers. Let's just say I have some unfinished business with your friend Jamie, and he might need a little persuasion to come see me." Katherine said this matter-of-factly, as if Matt wasn't fully aware that the 'unfinished business' was probably dangerous.

"No, I'm not helping you hurt Jamie, he's in enough trouble as it-" Then it dawned on him. The woman who's bed Jamie had ended up in, he said her name was Kat. Kat was short for Katherine. But if she needed him so badly why'd she let him go?

"All part of the plan." Katherine responded, as if she'd read Matt's mind. At this point she was blowing dust off the armoire against the wall.

"This room could really use some cleaning and updating, huh? Then again, Eugene has never been one for modernity." Matt's eyes widened. She knew Eugene? He shook his head, of course she knew Eugene. She was Katherine Pierce. A disastrous whirlwind in her own right. She probably made it her business to know every last person in the U.S.

"So, what will it be, Matt? You or Jamie? Though, you should know I'll probably take Jamie in either situation..." Katherine's stare shot through Matt, as if it were a weapon of its own. Matt didn't know what to do, he knew that Katherine would get what she wanted either way, she always did. But if he refused, maybe it could deter her long enough for him to come up with a plan.

"Well Katherine, some days I like to think of myself as a bit of a martyr. A knight in shining armor, if you will. And last time I checked, the hero doesn't tend to be in cahoots with the villain. So no, I won't be helping you in capturing Jamie. Tell me about this awful past that you think will crush me. Do your worst Katherine." Matt puffed his chest out in defiance. What could Katherine possibly know about Matt's past that could be any worse than Caroline being a vampire, or Elena choosing vampires over him? Katherine smirked. She clearly had received just the response she had expected.

"Have it your way Matt. But perhaps I need to bring a little prop in here to accurately portray my little history lesson." Katherine was out of his room in a flash. She returned ten seconds later, dragging Nina by her hair. Nina was trying, futilely, to escape her iron-clad grip.

"Here we are, the missing piece to the puzzle." Katherine threw Nina down on the bed next to Matt. Nina was up and running for the door at an inhumanly fast speed, but Katherine was faster. She grabbed Nina and pushed her down on the bed. Taking a stake that Matt hadn't even seen, Katherine pinned Nina in place, shoving the wood through Nina's leg and into the mattress.

"Now, after 145 years, you'd think you'd have learned better by now Nina?" Katherine wiped her bloody hands off on Matt's comforter. But Matt knew better than to chastise her for ruining it.

"Where to begin? Well, perhaps stating the obvious will help little Matty out the quickest. Clearly Nina isn't a normal human being, huh?" Matt looked over at Nina, tears were spilling down her cheeks, but her expression was that of hatred. Whether it was intended for him or Katherine, he wasn't sure.

"Nina is a vampire, not that you're that surprised Matt. I mean, she did tell you your first night here." Matt thought back to the dream he'd had where Nina's face had gone all veiny and fangy. Well, the dream he _thought_ he had.

"But, in case you don't believe it, let's have a little experiment, shall we?" Katherine grabbed Matt's arm and sliced it with her fingernail. Blood began to trickle out of the cut.

Nina screamed out, "No!" but it was too late, she had already smelled Matt's blood. Matt watched as she struggled to hold back the fangs that were already starting to protrude from her mouth.

"Naughty, naughty, trying to go against our nature Nina. Just like Stefan, and look where that landed him, a ripper once again with Klaus." Katherine was loving every minute of this encounter, Nina's fight against her vampire self, Matt's horror at this discovery; it was practically an early Christmas present.

"So, we know that Nina is a vampire now. But that's just the tip of the iceberg Matt." Matt felt a little queasy. After trying so hard to escape vampires, he'd run into a house with one. He didn't feel like the knight in shining armor he'd called himself to Katherine earlier. He felt more like the damsel in distress. What else could Katherine say? What other bad stuff could there possibly be?

"I'm growing tired of stretching this out, so I guess it's about time to give you the story in full." Matt felt his mind being penetrated, he fought it but lost.

_Matt was wearing tan trousers and brown suspenders. He had his hair slicked back, hoping it would make him look older. It had the opposite effect. He looked at himself in the mirror, making final adjustments for the important day that was today. _

The guy looked nearly nothing like him. He was taller, lankier, with dark brown hair that looked nothing like his own blonde. There were only two things that let Matt know that this was in fact him. First, the man had the same piercing blue eyes. And the second thing was nearly unexplainable, a mere feeling in his gut. Matt knew that this man was him. He didn't understand how, he just knew that it was.

_The man grabbed the small box off of his dresser. He exited his small apartment above his bakery and began to walk to her house, the her of his dreams. He finally reached his destination, a small manor with lush green fields. He rapped on the door knocker three times, his secret code with his beloved. She answered the door, her bright teal eyes sparkling and her dark brown curls hanging around her face._

It was Nina. The girl he was so excited to see was Nina. Matt couldn't believe what was happening.

_Matt grabbed Nina's hand and kissed it. "Care for a stroll, my lady?" He asked with a crooked grin. Nina nodded and they began to walk the grounds. He took her beneath the old oak tree where they used to play cards and more recently, had been spending their nights entwined in each other, whispering nothings. He got down on his knee and Nina gasped. "Nina Lily Forbes, will you do my the exquisite pleasure of being my wife?"_

Before Matt could even process the fact that Nina's last name was Forbes, he was being dragged on to another memory, one significantly less pleasant.

_She was bleeding everywhere, trembling in Matt's shaky arms. There was nothing he could do, she was dying. She looked up at him with half a smile, "I love you. I'll always love you." Matt let out a wail as she took her final breath. He sat there sobbing for what seemed like hours, until he heard movement in the bushes next to him. "I'm sorry for your loss, Mr. Carson." It was Emily Bennett, the rumored witch. Matt stared at her, he had nothing left to lose, so he figured he should try anything. "Can you bring her back Emily?" She nodded almost imperceptably. "Yes, but it will cost you. There will be consequences." Matt looked relieved. "Anything, anything at all, I'll do it for her." He carried Nina's lifeless body back to the small cabin where Emily was apparently staying. "To save a life, you must give one." She said non-chalantly. "But because she has already passed, true life cannot be given." Matt nodded, he didn't understand anything she was saying, but if it meant Nina would be saved, he didn't care. Emily lit candles all around them and began to chant. She gave Nina some type of red liquid, then continued her chanting. With each word she said, he could feel himself growing drowsier and drowsier, until finally he felt nearly lifeless. With his own last breath, he saw the happiest thing in all his life. His beloved Nina, rising from the dead, her wounds completely healed._

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><p><strong>Sorry that it took so long for me to update. I just really wanted to make sure I knew what I was doing before I just posted it haha. I hope everyone likes this chapter, it sort of puts a twist on 1865, huh? Anyway, as usual, please read and review! I have nothing set in stone for where this story is headed and would love feedback and ideas. Thanks! :)<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: The Explanation Conversation**

Matt opened his eyes. He was laying on the floor of his room, his head pounding. He tried to get up but was immediately overcome with dizziness.

"I wouldn't try that just yet if I were you." It was Nina. She was trying to pull the stake out of her leg without success. Her eyes still had a red tinge to them, most likely the product of the blood soaked arm Matt was now sporting. Her eyes is what brought him back to reality. Katherine. He scanned the room nervously, wondering what awful things Katherine would do next.

"She's gone." Nina said aloud. She'd given up on trying to remove the stake and was sitting exceptionally still on Matt's bed. Matt slowly got up, rubbing a rather large bump on his scalp that was obviously a by-product of his fall. He took a few steps towards Nina. Nina seemed completely out of it, barely noticing Matt's heavy footsteps towards her. Matt was mere inches away from her when she finally looked up at him. Her eyes were filled with so many emotions that Matt couldn't even place them all. He wanted to know everything, how she'd been hurt, if it was his fault, how he could possibly be himself and Mr. Carson... But he couldn't ask her any of this now, because one of the major emotions displayed in her eyes was pain. And something inside of him, maybe his gut or his heart, wanted, _needed_, to take that pain away. He wrapped his hand around the stake and pulled hard. It was definitely stuck in there good. He noticed Nina wincing and stopped pulling immediately. He couldn't hurt her.

"Hold me." Nina said, catching Matt by complete surprise. Hold her? As in hug her? Matt reluctantly began to embrace her.

"No, I mean hold me up, you idiot!" Nina's voice was hoarse, probably from trying to hold back gasps of pain. Nina shakily wrapped one arm around Matt, her tremors instantly reminding him of the memory Katherine had shown him where she had trembled in his arms. The terrible memory caused him to momentarily loosen his grip.

"Matt, come on! Use that dumb strength you've worked up by being a football player."

He held her up once more. Nina took her other arm and began pulling her leg up, trying to make the stake go completely through it. After several moments of sweat and pain, Nina had managed to pull her leg up through the stake. The wound was bleeding heavily as Nina tried to stand. She fell down on the floor loudly, in the same spot Matt had fallen earlier. Matt rushed to her side.

"Get away from me." She scowled as she tried once again to get up, shooing Matt's arm away as he tried to help her. Matt looked at where the stake had punctured her leg, realizing that the wound wasn't healing.

"Nina, it's not healing... shouldn't it be healing? You're a vampire..."

Nina flinched at the word vampire. She looked as if she was debating telling him the truth or ignoring him. Matt was pretty convinced she'd choose the latter, but she surprised him.

"I'm not a real vampire. Well, I mean I am, but what Emily did... I had died Matt, and even giving me your life and vampire blood couldn't make me back to normal. So I'm a lot weaker than most vampires... And it probably doesn't help that I go weeks between_ feedings_." She shuddered as she said feedings and looked away from Matt. Matt could see the weakness in her eyes before she turned away. He looked down at his arm where tiny drops of blood were still trickling out. It gave him an idea.

"No, no way Matt. I don't drink human blood, and I'm sure as hell not drinking yours." Nina limped out of the room as quickly as she could, back to her own bedroom. Matt practically collapsed onto his blood stained bed. He was exhausted and was so confused about everything. How could he possibly be the Mr. Carson that Nina was engaged to? Especially since they looked nearly nothing alike. And was Nina the distant relative of Caroline? I mean they did share the same last name in the same town... And why did Nina hate him so much? Even after he remembered everything, she still seemed extremely hesitant to be in his company. Had it been his fault that she died? And as if all these questions weren't enough, Matt's head was throbbing and his arm stung from the cut Katherine had inflicted on it. With his head swarming with thoughts of Nina, Matt drifted into a dreamless sleep. When he woke up, it was pitch black outside and he could hear shuffling in Nina's room next door. He got up, his headache from before slightly dulled away. He walked over to Nina's room, desperate for answers. Desperate for an explanation of what had happened and why she never told him any of this. And more importantly, what he had done to deserve the burning hatred she seemed to hold for him? He knocked on her door, but there was no answer. But the lack of response didn't fool him into thinking she wasn't there. So, he took a page out of her book and opened the door without asking.

"Oh my God!" Nina screamed and dashed under her covers.

Matt had been right, Nina had been in her room. But she'd been changing. And he walked in right as she had become butt naked.

"I'm so-sorry. I didn't know, I thought you we-were just ignoring me." Matt managed to stammer out as he covered his face with his hands. His cheeks had turned bright red from embarrassment. He hadn't looked away quick enough before seeing that her leg wound was still bleeding and that she had a jagged scar above her heart that nearly matched the one on her face. Nina changed quickly from under the covers and walked over to Matt.

"What the hell do you think you're doing in here? Just because you knock, that doesn't mean you can just come in whenever the hell you want!" Nina's eyes flickered with veins, obviously caused by her anger. Matt was at a loss for what to say. He quickly opened his mouth to speak, but then shut it just as quickly.

"Listen Matt, that was in 1864. You aren't the man I fell in love with. You're an 18 year old boy who clearly wants nothing to do with vampires. And I'm an 162 year old vampire who clearly wants nothing to do with you. So just go. Go on, GET OUT!"

Matt was surprised by her angry outburst. But he stayed rooted to the spot. He wasn't leaving until he had some answers.

"Go Matt, get out, now!" Nina was shaking with anger, tears of fury streaming down her face.

"Just go, you're really good at it, so just do it!" She collapsed on the bed, crying. Matt wanted to comfort her, but he realized that'd make her even more mad. She was clearly independent and these types of breakdowns were really out of the norm for her.

"I don't know what happened in 1864. I'm completely clueless here. But obviously I did something that made you hate me forever, even when I'm not exactly the same person you knew. So what is it? What did I do? I don't remember it, so tell me."

"What did you do? WHAT DID YOU DO! This. You did this to me. You made me into a soulless demon from hell and what's worse is that you left me to deal with alone!"

Matt was taken aback. She was mad at him for saving her life?

"Saving my life? YOU CAN'T SAVE SOMETHING THAT'S GONE. I hate you Matt. I've had 145 years to develop my hatred and believe me, it's quite extensive."

Matt didn't know what to say. She hated him for saving her, when, from what he could tell from the memory, it had been all he wanted and all that had seemed right.

"I'm sorry Nina. But that wasn't me, I mean it was, but I'm not him, I mean, I don't know. I don't know what to say."

"There's nothing to say Matt. Just know I finally got what I wanted." Nina had stopped crying. She smirked as she said it..

"What did you want?" Matt didn't understand and was confused by her complete reversal in emotion. It must have been the result of her vampirism, he'd seen it with Caroline.

"This. You, alive again."

If Matt hadn't seen her expression he would've thought she was excited to be reunited with her long, lost love. But the look in her eyes made him see otherwise.

"You see Matt, when I woke up as a vampire as a result of you and Emily's little 'saving' spell..." She made air quotes around the word saving and glared at Matt intensely.

"I had Emily do a little spell for me. A soul reincarnation spell. She did her little chanting thing, and next thing I know, she's tell me you'll reappear in Mystic Falls within the next 200 years. It was a long time to wait, but I was willing to do it. Now I'm ready to make you live the hell that I've been forced to live, or is it really even living, for the past 145 years."

Nina lunged at Matt, her fangs out, grabbing him by the neck. Matt was terrified.

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><p><strong>So here we go, Nina and Matt finally interacting with a few more cards on the table. Hopefully you all like! Read and Review please! :)<strong>


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: The Transition Period**

Nina slammed Matt into the wall behind him, causing the plaster to crack where his body met wall. She placed her mouth by his neck, letting her fangs scraped against his skin. Matt's heart was racing, he had no idea how to get out of this situation. He didn't want to be a vampire, the reason he left Mystic Falls was to escape that potential fate. Then, just as hastily as she'd grabbed him, she let him go.

"Did you think I'd make it that easy? Oh no Matt. I've waited 145 years for this, I'm going to drag it out as much as possible." Nina smiled in a way that reminded Matt of Katherine. How could this girl be the same one that he'd apparently loved in 1864?

"Now, get out. I have some business to attend to."

Matt didn't need to be told twice this time, he rushed out of the room, nearly knocking Jamie over on his way to his bedroom.

"Sorry dude, I was just coming up to talk." Jamie said, half-smiling. If Matt hadn't just had the encounter from hell, he would've loved to have some bro time with Jamie. But now, he had Nina to worry about, not to mention that Katherine was after Jamie for God knows what. The whole situation was a mess, a tangled mess that could compete with Mystic Falls for the craziest town ever award.

"Oh, sure man-" Matt was about to invite him into his room when he remembered it was covered in blood.

"You wanna go downstairs? I'm starving. We can talk in the kitchen."

Jamie was obviously excited by Matt wanting to talk with him. They walked down the stairs together, Matt trying to figure out how to hide the obnoxious worry and confusion from the night's events that he thought was giving him away by his expression.

"So, uh, what's up?" Matt nervously asked as he sat down at the kitchen table. He grabbed an apple and took a huge bite out of it, hoping the food would make him feel just a little less anxious.

"Well, Clara finally talked to me." Jamie said, looking down at the table. As Jamie did this Matt realized that Jamie's face was red and tear streaked, as if he'd been crying for awhile.

"What happened, buddy?" Matt patted Jamie's shoulder. He wasn't sure what else to do besides that.

"Looks like it was the pot calling the kettle black. The baby isn't mine. It's this guy that works in the hardware store. She's been cheating on me for months, _for months, _Matt_._ How could she? How could she do that?" Jamie had buried his head in his hands, he wasn't crying but his eyes certainly weren't dry. Matt didn't know what to say. Clara had cheated on him? Well it sounded like it could be right up Katherine's alley. She probably had used compulsion. Matt didn't know what to do. He couldn't tell Jamie the truth, he wouldn't understand or he'd think Matt was crazy, maybe both. But then Matt thought back, he thought back to how Elena and then Caroline kept him out of the loop for so long. How they had hidden all the vampires crawling around Mystic Falls from him, until it was absolutely necessary for him to know. Or really, until Caroline accidentally exposed herself. He wasn't sure he could do that to Jamie.

"Jamie, maybe, maybe it isn't what it seems." But when Matt looked up, Jamie was gone.

"Jamie? Jamie, you there? JAMIE?" There was no response from anywhere in the house. Matt looked around the entire kitchen area, until he felt a slight breeze, an open window. Tacked to the frame of the window was a note, written in cursive. But the note wasn't in ink, it was in _blood_.

_Told you I'd take him with or without your cooperation._

_xoxo,_

_Katherine._

_P.S. You might want to check on your beloved Nina._

Matt shouldn't have cared. Nina had tricked him into thinking she was a normal girl, pretended to try to turn him into a vampire, and told him she hated him. She shouldn't be anything more than an enemy to him. So why was he rushing to her rescue? Matt raced down the hall and up the stairs. By the time he reached Nina's room he was slightly out of breath. He didn't bother knocking or alerting her he was coming in, he just barged through the door. He nearly threw up when he saw her. She was sprawled across the bed, the scar on her face ripped open yet again, bleeding profusely. But that wasn't the only place she was bleeding. Her matching scar across her chest was ripped open as well, blood pouring out of it as if she wear a broken faucet. Written on her wall above her bed were the words, "_Don't ever forget, I always get what I want._" After getting over the initial shock, Matt ran to Nina's bed. She wasn't dead, well undead-dead. At least she wasn't all chaulky, ashy, drained of blood dead. He looked at her, her eyelids fluttering ever so slightly. He knew what he had to do. No matter how much Nina hated Matt, she would hate Katherine even more for doing this to her. Then again, if Matt did what he was thinking of doing... She'd probably hate him just as much. But it was a risk he had to take, even if he might be making the same mistake twice in two different bodies. He grabbed a piece of broken glass lying on the floor and sliced his arm where Katherine had cut him earlier. He squeezed, getting his blood flow really going. He pressed his arm against Nina's mouth and tilted her head back. She was going to drink, whether she wanted to or not.

Matt sat like that for a few minutes, in complete silence. It took him a few hours to realize the truth, she wasn't waking up. No matter how much of his blood he tried to pour down her throat, it wasn't making a difference. When she'd said she was weaker than normal vampires, she was right. The injuries Katherine inflicted on her were too great, there was no coming back. Matt stopped, wrapping his arm in her sheets. He smelt the odd mix of lavender and firewood that signified her scent. Next thing he knew, he was swirling in a memory.

_They were sitting on a hill, the grass tickling their legs and toes. She was smiling up at him, the way she always did when she knew she'd won an argument. "James Victor Carson, admit it. Admit that you were the one who pushed me into the lake when we were seven!" He thought about it, it had been him, but it was just so much fun to tease her and pretend it wasn't. "I do believe Miss Nina Lily Forbes_, _Stefan Salvatore admitted to pushing you in." Matt smiled, thinking about how badly he wanted to stroke her hand as he did so. "You know very well that the only reason Stefan took the blame is because you and Damon have some weird sort of control over him! Don't lie to me James, I cannot be friends with someone so deceitful." She crossed her arms and pouted, in that cute way that Matt couldn't help but adore. "Very well Miss Forbes, perha-" But Matt didn't get to finish, Nina interrupted him. "This isn't a formal setting James, call me Nina. Miss Forbes is reserved for when my Papa's around. We're on a hill in the middle of a field, somehow I doubt my father will go poking around here." She looked at him with her mischievous teal eyes, goading him to continue his statement. "My apologies, __**Miss**__ Nina." She glared at him when he used the word Miss, but Matt had meant to. He loved to annoy her in the slightest ways. "I suppose it's time to come clean, I was the one who pushed you in the lake all those years ago. Unfortunately, that's not the only lie I've been telling." Matt's face reddened slightly. He couldn't believe he was actually going to tell her this. "Oh its not, is it?" Nina looked genuinely surprised. If only she knew the news he was about to drop on her. 'Well Nina, I was thinking, that maybe" He inched closer to her, his fingers grazing hers. "Well, I was thinking that maybe, if you want to, that maybe we could-" Matt gulped, he was terrified to put it into words. "Yes, you may court me James." Nina said as she smiled and kissed him, softly and sweetly. She broke away after a few moments, not nearly as much time as Matt would have wanted. She laid her head on his shoulder, her scent of lavender and firewood forever etching themselves into Matt's nose._

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><p><strong>Alright, so I'm sure I'm going to get lots of anger for killing Nina... But I think the story needed to take that turn. Matt needs time to remember everything he loved about the Nina he knew back when he was in James' body, not the Nina so hellbent on torturing him. <strong>

**I'm hoping everyone likes this chapter, and gives me reviews. Who knows, I could be convinced to bring another TVD character in or perhaps Nina back... :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: The Fates Decide**

Matt gasped as he was awoken from the memory, brought back to the reality of the bloody and dead Nina in his arms. Tears began sliding down his cheeks, tears he couldn't seem to control. As if her dead body and his intense sobbing wasn't enough, Matt's, or really James', memories kept coming at him. There came a point when Matt knew he would drown, whether it'd be in his own tears or in his memories of _her_, the only her that had ever really chosen him first and last. He was being pulled back, by the fourth memory in a matter of minutes. But this memory was strong, so very strong that it was like he was actually there living it, not just remembering it.

_She had tears in her eyes, and it killed Matt to see her this upset. "I'm telling you James, there's something off about her!" She'd balled her hands into little fists, something that James usually found adorable, but right now he was just finding annoying. "Listen Nina, Katherine is an orphan. She's bound to be a little odd from having to go through that. I mean, you changed a bit yourself when your father passed away." Nina looked as though she'd been slapped, he shouldn't have brought up her father. It was too soon, she'd only lost him three months prior. Normally Matt would've apologized, but something inside of him told him not to console Nina. That that wasn't his mission. It was a weird feeling, something he knew wasn't right, but he couldn't fight it. But Nina was strong, she wouldn't dare show more emotion than necessary. "Really James? Because this doesn't seem like the way someone acts when they lose their parents. The way she toys with the Salvatore brothers? Don't you notice that? You and Damon... You and Damon were friends! How can you not be concerned that his well-being might be at stake?" Nina glared at him, as if she didn't even know who he was anymore. Matt knew the right response, the one he was supposed to say, but the only one he could make was, "Katherine is a great girl, Nina. The kind of girl a boy wants to grow up and marry. The kind he wishes he proposed to." Not even five seconds after Matt said the last word, Nina smacked him across the face with all the force her fragile body could muster. "Then I'll save you some stars and grant your wish right now. Our engagement is OFF!" She threw her ring in his face, sprinting down the hill and into the garden of her estate. Matt watched her go, with no emotion. _

Matt couldn't believe it. He'd broken off the engagement? Over defending Katherine? But at the time, in the memory, it had seemed that everything he said wasn't really his choice. That he was being forced somehow to say them. Then it dawned on him. How could it have taken so long for him to realize it? He was being compelled! By why would Katherine bother compelling him? The whole thing made no sense. This moment of confusion took his mind off of Nina's death, but only for a minute. She was still in his arms, still in his arms the same way she had been in 1864. But this time, there was no witch to bring her back. No spell or vampire blood that could return her to him. And even though it hadn't been in this life, he loved her. He loved her through the memories James had of her. He knew the mean Nina he'd known in the short few days he'd spent in Luverne wasn't really her. She was just the product of 145 years of solitude and self-hate. He was still mad at her. Mad at her for not telling him the truth automatically, mad at her for not realizing that he'd thought he was doing the right thing when he had Emily save her. But he couldn't stay mad at her, at least not really. He didn't know if it was because he loved her or because he knew he'd never see her glare at him again. Either way, he was going to try his hardest to just remember the good things about her, even if he was remembering her through James.

Matt placed her body on the bed. He went downstairs, grabbed cleaning supplies from underneath the sink, and walked back to Nina's room. He wiped the blood off her face, wrapping her jagged scar in paper towels. He did the same to the scar over her heart. He went into her closet and found a bright teal dress that still had tags on it. The color of the dress matched her eyes nearly perfectly. He undressed her, trying not to remember how just hours earlier he had accidentally walked in on her naked. He put her in the dress, but something still wasn't right. He went outside, looking for the one flower he knew she'd want. He scoured the grounds of the old, nearly crumbling house. Then he found it, just one bloom hidden beneath a bush. The most beautiful yellow tulip he'd ever seen. Tulips had always been Nina's favorite, but yellow were especially beautiful according to her. Matt remembered that yellow tulips became her favorite when James picked them for her on her fifteenth birthday. Yellow was supposed to signify friendship and Matt was still too naive to realize he loved her. He picked the tulip and went back to Nina's room. He placed the flower in Nina's beautiful, dark hair that's curls were still so full of life even though the person who's head they were on wasn't. He didn't know where he wanted to put her body, he couldn't even stand to think of burying her. So he just left her on her bed. He'd figure out a proper resting place for her after he took care of a piece of business. Katherine. He was going to get her for this. She would rue the day she took Nina from him, not when it had been a mere miracle he could've even met her in the first place. He set out down the driveway of the Cratz home. He was going to do whatever it took to find Katherine and save Jamie. He had to save Jamie. He couldn't let everyone in that house perish. Plus, he had no idea what Katherine could've done to Clara or Eugene. Just because Katherine thought she could do whatever to Damon and Stefan, didn't mean she could do whatever she wanted to him. He wasn't the sweet, understanding guy he'd been in Mystic Falls. He had changed, hardened. And he wasn't about to let her get away with anything.

"In case that note didn't illustrate it well enough for you Matt, I always get what I want. And I always want to get away with everything." Katherine was in front of him, with that bitchy smirk on her face. Matt lunged at her without thinking. She grabbed him and spun him around, her arm constricting his air pathway.

"Bad choice Matt. I might just have to punish you for that." She took ahold of his arm, and smiled when she heard the satisfying crunch. Matt would've yelled except Katherine was preventing him from breathing, let alone screaming.

"Now that you've got a nice broken arm to remind you not to try and hurt me, I suppose I can use you to my advantage." She released him for a second, and he cradled his arm. Next thing he knew, she was pressing her bleeding wrist to his mouth. He tried to resist but it was hard enough defending himself with two arms against a vampire, trying to compete with just one was impossible. His arm was healing though, Katherine's blood was fixing the injury remarkably fast.

"Ah, good as new. Now to put you to work. We're going to be great friends Matt." Katherine smiled and tilted her head in that crazy way she did when she was about to toy with someone. Matt wasn't sure how he was going to get out of this one. He didn't think there was a way...

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><p><strong>Sorry that that chapter was a little boring and sad, but it was necessary. <strong>

**I'm hoping everyone is liking Katherine... Though I haven't quite decided what exactly she's up to, review and give me ideas! Or just read and review in general to make me happy :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: The Double Doppelganger**

"Decisions, decisions. What do I do with you Matty?" Katherine paced back and forth in Nina's room. After she'd healed his broken arm, she'd dragged him back to the old Victorian house, forcing him to sit on the same bed as the dead Nina. It was absolute torture and further fueled Matt's hatred of Katherine. As if killing the love of his life wasn't enough, now she felt the need to shove it in his face for their entire conversation.

"Well, we could turn you into a vampire, that might give me some extra strength on my side... But knowing your noble self, you'd walk straight into the sun." She tapped her finger on her chin. Then she smirked again.

"Or I could still change you and we could use you as a sacrifice... I do need a vampire..." Matt was puzzled. Sacrifice? Hadn't there already been a sacrifice? Hadn't Elena been the sacrifice? How many wolf-vampire hybrids could there be in the world? Matt's astonishment didn't go unnoticed by Katherine.

"Ah, always the naive little one, huh James? Forever needing to be filled in." Katherine had plopped herself down next to Matt, causing Nina's body to bounce slightly as the extra weight was added to the bed. Matt winced at the sight. Katherine was horrible, and what was worse was that he was now in her clutches. He prayed to God, if there was even a God at this point, that the sacrifice that Katherine was talking about wouldn't make her the same undying, invincible monster that Klaus had become.

"Let's just say the Petrova Doppelganger's aren't the only ones in history..." Katherine placed her bony, perfectly manicured hand on Matt's shoulder. He cringed in response to her touch.

"Cringing? Really Matt? I do recall you saying _Katherine is a great girl, Nina. The kind of girl a boy wants to grow up and marry. The kind he wishes he proposed to." _Katherine made air quotes and laughed manically. Matt stood up and punched her as hard as he could in the face. She didn't have time to react because the punch was just so unexpected. Her nose was bleeding, adding flecks of scarlet to the already blood stained sheets that Nina was laying on. It took her only a few seconds to regain composure, pinning Matt to the ground, letting her already healing nose drop blood onto his face.

"That was your last mistake Matt." She slit her wrist for the second time that day and forced Matt to drink. Matt tried with all his might to escape the blood burning as it slid down his throat. But it was no use. Katherine had five hundred years of vampirism on her side, she would always beat him in a strength contest. After forcing a decent amount of blood down his throat, she cupped his face in her hands.

"It looks like you've made my decision for me. Now Matt, this will only hurt for a second." The last thing Matt remembered was Katherine's smile and the distinct crack of his spine.

He woke up to the sound of an owl hooting in the distance. He was laying in the grass somewhere, covered in something sticky. He sat up a little, noticing there were two other bodies next to him. One belonged to his friend, Jamie. The other belonged to a buff, dark-haired guy. Both of them were completely passed out. As he wiped his brow, he realized his face was covered in blood. Blood was the sticky substance coating his entire body... but who's?

"Just a girl from the farm a couple of miles away. You really went at her." Katherine said, placing her usual smug smile on. Matt's heart dropped, he'd killed someone already? And he didn't even remember it? This was bad, really bad.

"You always reminded me of Stefan... It appears as though you two are similar in more ways than one. Both rippers at heart." Matt shuddered involuntarily. He hated giving Katherine the exact disgusted reaction she wanted. In fact, he hated everything about Katherine.

"Now, I know you weren't there, and even if you were, you're probably too stupid to have understood what was going on." Katherine was pacing around Matt and the other two bodies, acting as if she was their Hitler.

"But, there was a ritualistic sacrifice that was necessary to bring about Klaus' werewolf side. I was thinking about it, and a curse sealed Klaus' werewolf side, right? Well, why wouldn't a curse seal it again? So I found myself a wolf" She motioned to the brawny man. "A vampire" She pointed to me. "A witch" A woman in a dark purple dress and strawberry blonde hair came forward. "And a doppelganger." She motioned to Jamie. Matt's jaw dropped before he could even think about concealing it.

"Yes, Jamie is a doppelganger like myself. So I figured I'd use him in this little ritual. I didn't even know he existed before last week. Following you to Luverne turned out to be the best decision I ever made." Matt was angry. Clearly Klaus needed to be stopped, but did all of this blood need to be shed to do it? And how could Katherine do it? He knew she always put herself first, but how could she do that to Jamie? How could she kill him in the sacrifice for being a doppelganger when the reason she was a vampire was to escape Klaus using her in the exact same way? Katherine was everything that Stefan and Damon described her to be. A selfish, manipulative bitch. And without Klaus, there would never be anyone to punish her for her actions.

"Now to get started, Gloria, will you do the honors?" Katherine grabbed the unknown werewolf from the ground. Gloria began chanting as Katherine shook the werewolf awake.

"Can't have you dying in your sleep, can we?" Katherine smiled as the werewolf came to.

"Goodbye Craig." She smirked as she ripped his heart out.

"Next." She said with a grin. She walked over to Matt, picking him up by the shirt.

"As much as I'd like you to watch your friend Jamie die, I believe that rituals order's cannot be broken. Such a shame too, I've always thought you were really hot." Gloria began to chant again. Katherine took a stake out of her bag. Before Matt could even react, she was shoving it through his chest, piercing his heart with the wood. The last thing Matt remembered was teal eyes looking at him through a haze.

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><p><strong>I'm sorry about the short chapter guys! I just really wanted to update and I didn't want to write anything else after my last sentence until the next chapter. I hope everyone likes this chapter! Please Read and Review! And thanks to "Valerie" and the person named "Me" for their reviews. They made my day and were helpful. :)<strong>


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: The Perfect Purgatory**

Matt felt like he was floating. He opened his eyes, his head spinning. He tried to get up, if his head had hurt during his last encounter with Katherine, it was nothing compared to this. His eyes squeezed shut with pain, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He opened his eyes and turned his head around, scanning the entire area looking for the owner of the hand. Though he found no person, he did finally realize where he was. He was in the old cemetery next to Wickery Bridge in Mystic Falls. How the hell had he ended up here? He felt something around his neck, and noticed a thin gold chain with a lapis lazuli pendant on the end. It was a very odd piece of jewelry for him to be wearing. He turned it over in his hand a couple of times. Engraved on the gold surrounding the stone was one word, _Vivificus._ Matt recognized it was Latin, but had no idea what it meant. He looked around the graveyard, searching for the owner of the necklace or a hint as to why he was here. The grass beneath him felt hard and scratchy. He pulled himself up and read aloud the tombstone closest to his head,

"James Carson

March 14th, 1840 - January 23rd, 1864

Beloved son and fiancee"

Matt's breath caught in his throat. Actually, he started choking on his words. He'd ended up at his grave from 1864? Did this mean he was dead? Was he in some sort of creepy purgatory?

What was going on, seriously? He crawled on his hands and knees to the next grave over. This one he could only whisper,

"Nina Forbes

December 21st, 1840 - January 23rd, 1864

Caring daughter and loving fiancee"

This tombstone gave him a different reaction than his own had. His eyes watered, he didn't want to be upset. Who was he to even mourn her death when that wasn't even the Nina he had known? Not to mention that she hadn't really died then. He was an idiot. A bumbling, dead vampire, idiot. He was dead. He was really, really dead this time. No soul reincarnation, no vampire blood, no way he could be alive. But it didn't bother him, not at all. He actually felt like it had been right, that him dying was what was supposed to happen. He felt bad that Jamie had probably died too... What was Clara going to do? I mean, she'd told Jamie it wasn't his kid, but there's a good chance that Katherine had compelled her to believe that. This whole ordeal, it was so complicated that he could barely keep it straight.

"Okay, pity party over." He mumbled to himself.

"Not by a long shot." It was the dark haired, teal eyed beauty that spoke. Her raspy little voice floating in Matt's ears like a melody. He was unbelievably happy until he remembered he was dead. Which meant that she was too. Still. Damn.

"Are we dead?" Matt had to ask, he knew the answer, but he needed it confirmed by her.

She paced around him, her black high-heeled boots digging into the lawn around him. She plopped down next to him, taking him by surprise.

"Well, do you want to be?" For a second, Matt saw the Nina that existed in 1864. The look of concern flashing through her eyes, the way the corners of her mouth turned down, as if she was contemplating something really important, it was everything Nina Forbes had been. Everything that Matt had wanted to be with, still wanted to be with.

"Well, I thought I did... But I don't know now. Where are we?"

"We're in Mystic Falls." Matt just noticed the stake poking out of Nina's back pocket. He was really confused.

"But I thought we were-"

"Dead? No, we're not." She grabbed the stake out of her back pocket and twirled it around her fingers.

"But we're in for a hell of a fight and I figured if you wanted to die... I owed you that much." Matt watched a tear barely escape from the corner of her left eye.

"Hell of a fight? Nina, what's going on?" Couldn't Matt get a straight answer once? Couldn't someone just make it easy and tell him what was going on? He was a grown guy, an adult in the eyes of the law. Why did everyone insist upon treating him like a child? Hadn't he earned a right to know what was going on?

"Klaus. Doesn't it always come down to his insanity?" Matt didn't see why it always came down to Klaus. I mean sure, recently it had been the Klaus is pure evil show, but had it always been that way?

"Nina, you're going to have to explain some things to me. I'm completely lost over here."

"Alright, but I have to start in 1864." Matt felt the familiar pull of a memory, he gave in instantly.

_Nina was crying. She was sitting under the oak tree, their oak tree, fiddling with something on her neck. It was a necklace, long and gold with a small blue pendant on it. She was feverishly twiddling it between her fingers, obviously trying to make a decision. After several minutes of contemplation, she took the necklace off and left it underneath the oak tree's swaying branches. She was about to get up and leave when a mysterious figure appeared out of nowhere._

"_Aye, Katerina." Katerina? Who was Katerina? Her puzzlement clearly played across her face as she turned and faced the unknown person. He was light, with sand colored hair and a dangerous air to him. Nina was afraid. She knew everyone in Mystic Falls. If she didn't know this guy... Well he could be dangerous. Especially after everything her father had told her before he died... This guy could be the one Papa had feared so greatly. This could be the man responsible for Papa's early death. "I'm afraid you must be mistaken sir, I am not Katerina." Nina tried to swallow her fear, but it was creeping through her fingertips, emanating through her limbs, radiating outwards from her very core. And he could sense it. The way he was eyeing her... It was like he could smell her fear. Like he was feeding off of it. That's when she knew there was no escape. That's when she knew this man was everything her father had feared. That's when she knew she'd never be able to reconcile with James. Or watch her little sister Fiona grow up. Or help her grieving mother care for their crumbling estate. That's when she knew that life was no longer a choice for her. She inhaled deeply as the man sped towards her. Before she knew it, her face and chest had been ripped open. The pain searing itself into her memory, her last memories. The last thing she remembered were his arms, his strong, callused arms, holding her tightly to him. Then the dark engulfed her._

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><p><strong>Sorry this chapter is shorter, I just want to keep updating and I don't want too much to happen in any one chapter... and I'm lazy. haha. Hopefully you all enjoy. PLEASE REVIEW 3<strong>


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: The Ripper Returns**

Matt felt beads of sweat dripping down his face. That last memory, the one of her first death, it pained him more than it ever had before. Knowing now that they could've had a life together, a normal, human life. But it had all been ripped away, ripped open just like her face and chest had been by Klaus. And it was Katherine's fault. If Katherine hadn't compelled him, he wouldn't have said those awful things. She wouldn't have run away from him in the woods. They could've lived, or at least died together. But instead, they were vampires. They were getting ready to fight the most difficult fight of their lives, the fight. The fight that Nina had mentioned... Wait, who were they fighting?

"Nina..." Matt started but couldn't finish. He wanted this all to end but he wasn't sure he could lose Nina again... And if this was going to be the toughest fight ever, well maybe he'd be better off if she really did just stake him here and now.

"I wouldn't blame you..." Matt heard Nina mumble. He looked at her again. Even though she was standing, talking, she still looked so broken. He'd left her once in 1864, he wouldn't make that mistake again.

"No, I'm here to stay Nina. I'm not that scared little boy that I was 160 some odd years ago. But I'm going to need more than just a memory of Klaus kil-" Matt choked on the word. He took a deep breath, "I'm going to need more than just a memory of Klaus."

"Alright, but this is going to have to be a quick course Matt, we don't have much time..." Nina grabbed his hand and he gasped as he felt the inexplicable feeling of fire running through his veins, the passion igniting between them. He was momentarily distracted by his innate desire to wrap himself around her and kiss her until the battle came to them. But he pushed this feeling to the side, it could be taken care of later when there wasn't emanate danger approaching.

"Okay, well I guess my first question is, why did Katherine compel me back then? What was in it for her?"

"Well, she knew Klaus was coming, that he'd figured out where she was after all these years. So she began to hatch the plan that ultimately resulted in the vampire tomb slash supposed death of 19 vampires, including herself. But she'd heard Klaus was coming before her plan could be perfectly executed, which left her with some serious problems. So she decided that the only way to fix this problem was to trick Klaus into thinking someone else was her..."

"You." Matt realized. He was infuriated even further. How dare Katherine use an innocent girl to save her own skin? Though he realized that Katherine wouldn't really be Katherine if she hadn't done that.

"Exactly. It turns out that the Petrova family blood line didn't end with Katherine. Her daughter grew up, married, and had children, who then had children, who then had their own children... Long story short, I am the descendant of Katherine. And Petrova's have one more thing in common besides all having dark hair... they have the same smell. It was a protection that the witches put on the bloodline to make it more difficult for Klaus to find the true doppelganger."

"So when Klaus saw you under the tree... he though you were Katherine because you smelled like her?"

"Precisely. When he found out I wasn't the doppelganger or Katherine, obviously he was infuriated for having been tricked by Katherine again. He took his anger out on me."

"Alright, well I get that part I guess... But how did you come back after Katherine massacred you?"

"Well... a witch saved me after Klaus killed me, so you'd think a witch would save me after Katherine did..."

"A witch? There was another witch in Luverne?"

"Of course there was Matt. Where there's a vampire, there's almost always a witch. Our kinds have been intermingling for centuries."

"Well who was it? Where are they now?"

Nina teared up, her lip trembling. Matt was confused. He put his hand on her shoulder.

"Nina, what's wrong?"

"Eugene. Eugene was a witch... or really a warlock. He brought me back."

"But how? You were a vampire this time when you died..."

Nina was choking back full blown sobs.

"Well if you have a certain magical artifact" She gestured to the blue stone hanging from the silver chain around Matt's neck. "And a certain, extremely talented witch... It's not that diffi-" But she didn't finish the sentence. She'd collapsed into a heap in the middle of the cemetery. Her eyes were like leaky faucets in desperate need of repair. Matt had no idea what to do. He'd never been good with crying girls.

"Nina, what is it? What happened?"

"He died. He died. He died." She kept repeating it under her breath, shaking terribly with each utterance.

"Eugene?" Matt was taken aback. Eugene had died? He knew that he was an older man but, he couldn't have died. He just couldn't have.

"It's my fault Matt! He died saving me, bringing me back. It was too much magic and he died. It's all my fault." Matt sat down next to her and pull her close to him. The smell of lavender and firewood burying themselves in his nostrils. He rocked her back and forth for a few minutes, sitting just like that. Her head in the crook of his arm, his hand massaging her back.

"It's not your fault Nina. You didn't ask to be saved."

"But he died because of it! Because of me!" She nuzzled her head into his shoulder.

"He was an old man, he'd lived a full life."

"I've lived a full life Matt! Actually, I've lived several full lives. It was my time to die, not his."

"Don't say that. Not when we finally can be together. Not when we need you to fight whatever this horrible fight is going to be. Look at me." He grabbed her chin and lifted her head up to his, her teal eyes reflecting the sun back at him. The sun! How was he not an inferno of death right now? He looked down at his hand and saw a gaudy ring that resembled Damon and Stefan's. Ah, now it made sense. With this minor issue solved, he remembered why he'd made Nina look at him in the first place.

"He made the decision. He wanted you to be safe and alive. Instead of blaming yourself and crying, think about what a wonderful man Eugene was. Think about how he loved you so much he did everything just to bring you back. Let that feeling drive you to defeat whoever or whatever we have to." Nina had stopped crying. She finally looked like she was moving towards being at peace.

"Now, Nina, who do we have to fight?"

Fear flickered in Nina's eyes for half a second, then Matt found out why.

"Me." It was Stefan, covered in blood, dropping the body of a dead girl at their feet.

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><p><strong>I'm sorry it took me so long to update. I feel like such a poopy author, but I've been so busy with college etc. But I promise to be better now! I hope everyone likes this chapter... It's more of a boring explanation chapter but the next one will be interesting, I promise! Read and Review por favor. :)<strong>


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: The Lost Cause**

He had heard that Stefan went off the deep end, but it wasn't until Matt saw him that he truly realized just how twisted and sick Stefan had become. It was like the guy Matt had known just weeks prior had just disappeared into thin air and had been replaced by this blood sucking monster. Hell, Stefan made Damon look saintly right now. Matt instinctively stepped in front of Nina. He knew he wouldn't really be much help to her, not if ripper Stefan was on the loose. But he knew, deep down, that he'd protect her no matter what, even if his efforts were futile. Stefan inched closer to them and Matt let out a growl before he even realized what he was doing.

"Touchy, touchy. Why so serious Matt?" Stefan's voice was mocking and absolutely terrifying at the same time. Stefan took another step towards them. Matt was bearing his fangs in full force now, red veins were trickling down his face like tiny streams of aggression. Nina lightly grasped his hand.

_Calm down Matt, it'll be alright._

Matt almost jumped in shock. He could hear Nina, but he was certain she hadn't spoken.

_Telepathy Matt. It takes a lot of practice but I've had a lot of time on my hands._

Matt tried his hardest to send his thoughts back but he couldn't quite figure out how to get through to her. Meanwhile, Stefan was circling around them, like a predator stalking its prey.

Matt didn't know what to do. This situation seemed impossible and Stefan was definitely way too far off the rails to be reasoned with. Only when Matt began to scan the cemetery did he finally realize the girl who had been dropped at his feet.

"Elena!" He half-screamed, half-choked. He barely resisted the urge to run to her side. Was she dead? Could he help her?

_Use your vampire senses Matt. You'll be able to tell if she's still breathing. Just relax._

Matt couldn't believe his ears... Or really his mind. Nina was telling him to relax? With crazy ripper Stefan on the loose, potentially dead Elena at his feet, and Klaus god knows where? His head was ready to explode, even without all of Nina's extra thoughts invading it. But he tried to do what she said. He took several deep breaths, trying anxiously to figure out if Elena was still alive while still keeping a watchful eye on Stefan. After thirty seconds of grueling work, he managed to pick up a pulse that could only be Elena's. He breathed a sigh of relief, only to realize that even if Elena was still alive, it might not be for much longer. Hell, he might not be alive for much longer. Part of him wanted to just grab Nina and kiss her and let Stefan kill them right there. The other part wanted to stay and fight. While his internal decisions were at tug of war, an unlikely hero appeared.

"Hello, brother." Damon managed to snarl out before he was on top of Stefan, stabbing him with what looked like a vervain laced stake. Damon let the wood pierce Stefan mere centimeters above his heart. Damon didn't want to kill Stefan... Well maybe he did, but he knew Elena would never forgive him if he went through with it.

Matt noticed Damon's hesitation. He understood that Stefan was his brother, but this was a matter of life and death. Surely Damon would choose Elena's safety over his deranged brother, right? Just as Matt was about to make a move and end the situation, Bonnie came up over the hill, chanting. As she did so Stefan grasped his head in pain. Then in a flash, Caroline was grabbing chains and wrapping them around Stefan. Matt was dizzy watching as the blonde beauty zoomed back and forth around Stefan, who was writhing on the ground in pain. Matt wanted to help, but he wasn't really sure how. Plus, it didn't even really seem like they needed it. Maybe Nina was wrong, maybe this 'battle of a lifetime' wasn't really going to be that difficult. Matt began to smile and turned around to see Nina, surely she'd be as excited as him that Stefan was being restrained and that they'd be alright. But when he turned around, Nina wasn't there. He looked around the cemetery, momentarily panicked, until he saw her huddled around Elena's body. She was giving Elena her blood. Matt felt like an idiot. Elena had been laying on the ground dying and he'd had the perfect opportunity to help her, yet here Nina was saving her life, even though Nina was much weaker. Matt went over to them.

"Nina, it's alright, I got this." He tried to push her away. It was only then that he realized what Nina was doing. She was feeding off of Elena. Matt tried to push her away. Nina may have been a weak vampire, but Matt was brand new and hadn't developed the real strength of a true vampire yet. After several seconds of trying to pry her away, he yelled for help. But as he yelled, he realized he was all alone in the cemetery. Then like a fog, he felt himself fade into sleep, just barely hearing a scream off in the distance as he drifted off.

_He was walking in a garden, hand in hand with Katherine. He smiled as she playfully ran ahead of him. He understood that this was a dangerous game he was playing, that he would upset a lot of people by pursuing her. He didn't care. All he cared about were her gorgeous brown eyes staring back into his. As long as he had that, nothing else mattered. Not his responsibilities or the expectations everyone had of him, no, just her. He laughed as she plunged into the lake, half dressed in her corset and slip. She called out to him to join her, and he knew instantly that he had to oblige. He slipped out of his suspenders and trousers and dove headfirst into the lake. He could swim with her forever. He could be with her forever. Just them. Just him and Katherine._

Matt woke up, chained in a cellar. He could smell the blood smeared across his clothes and face. He had just enough slack in the chain to lift his head up and stare at his feet. _His__feet._ Those were not his feet. He looked down at his hands. On the ring finger of his right hand there was a blue, gaudy ring. A ring with a silver S engraved.

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><p><strong>Sorry for the extreme delay in updating. College is rather time-consuming. I hope everyone likes this chapter. I know some of the characters only returned briefly, but don't worry. They'll be coming back in full swing soon enough. As always, read and review! :)<strong>


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: The Freaky Friday**

Matt couldn't believe his own eyes...well they weren't really his eyes. How had this happened? He was in Stefan's body...But that meant...

"Oh God, no." Matt breathed. That meant Stefan was in his body and free to wreak havoc as he pleased.

"Glad you'e awake finally." Matt could recognize that condescending, bitchy voice anywhere.

"Katherine." He grunted. He didn't know when exactly she'd entered the room, but she was there, lounging in a chair across from the slab he was currently chained down to.

"Of course I'm here, _Matt"_ She uttered the last word with a laugh, slowly rising from her chair to graze a finger down his arm. Matt shuddered at her touch.

"What have you done to me Katherine?" He spat with as much venom as his chained down body could exert.

"Me? _I_ did nothing to you. _I'm_ not a witch, remember?" Katherine said, clearly pissed off.

"_I_ can't do anything to make you and Stefan's souls switch bodies. _I _don't have that kind of power." She was practically fuming now. Matt could hear her heels clicking on the hard stone floor of the cellar.

"I, however, do have that authority" Bonnie said as she slid into Matt's line of vision. Matt's gasp was highly audible, echoing off the walls of the chamber.

"B-Bonnie?" He managed to sputter out.

"Yes Matt, or should I say Stefan?" Bonnie smiled at him.

"What have you done, Bonnie?" Matt asked, trying to sound as strong as possible.

"Little judgy witch over here decided to play Martyr, just not with her own life!" Katherine's glare looked like daggers ready to stab Bonnie at any second.

"I'm sorry Matt" Was all he could hear Bonnie mutter.

"Bon, what's going on? Why did you switch us?" Matt needed to know what was going on. He needed to find Nina. He needed to save everyone from who they thought was him.

"You, you started to feed on Elena, Matt. You were yelling hysterically, saying Nina was attacking, but when we looked over, it was you crouched over her body. I tried to get you to stop, but you wouldn't." Bonnie was full on crying now, her body shaking with every choked sob.

"So I did the only thing I could, I incapacitated you with magic. But we all focused our attention on you, which meant Stefan got away. And we couldn't let him get away Matt, we couldn't. He was going to resurrect Klaus. So I did a body switching spell, because at least we had you knocked out..." Bonnie's sobbing was practically taking over now. Matt could see Katherine rolling her eyes.

"And I, I don't know why but when I switched you guys... You, or I guess Stefan in your body really, woke up and, and, finished Elena off!" Bonnie collapsed to the cellar floor. Matt could barely hear what she said next.

"And that was it, that was the last straw for Damon. He took the stake and drove it through Stefan's, or really your, heart." Bonnie had stopped sobbing now, only letting hot tears stream down her face.

"And so now your stuck in Stefan's body. Dear old Elena is dead. And I'm stuck looking at the body of the man I loved, without him actually in it." Matt could have sworn he saw Katherine's eyes glisten with tears.

"So what do I do now?" Matt said to no one in particular.

"Well, first things first, we need to make sure you aren't going to go on a psychotic blood-sucking rampage again." Bonnie said, trying to sound as calm as she could.

"Right. How do we do that exactly?"

"With a little help from me." Nina came barging into the room, ignoring the death glares she received from Katherine. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he felt tears roll down his cheek from her face.

"I'll of course be willing to help too." Matt saw Caroline enter the room tentatively.

"Anything to help my great Aunt." She smiled and slung an arm around Nina. Matt couldn't help but smile back. It was weird to think that everything had changed so much in the past few weeks.

"So Matt, do you think you can control yourself for a little?" Bonnie said, her eyes shining with unshed tears and hope. Just as Matt was about to nod, Katherine spoke.

"Not to interrupt this little happy fest, but I'd rather be sacrificed in a Klaus-style ritual then listen to all of this sappy nonsense." And with that, Katherine sped out of the room.

"Good riddance." Matt muttered.

"Amen to that" Nina said smiling down at him.

Bonnie and Caroline removed his cuffs and let him stand up. He might not have technically been himself, but he hadn't been all-American, wholesome, jock Matt in a long time. Maybe this would be a new beginning for him. Grabbing Nina's hand and putting an arm around Caroline and Bonnie, he walked out of the cellar, off to a new life where maybe he'd finally be put first.

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><p><strong>I figured for Christmas I would finally update and end this story. Sorry that it took so long to end itupdate and sorry that its so short. I hope you still enjoy it and like the ending. Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed along the way. I might start a new fanfiction in a couple of days/weeks, but who knows if I will haha. Thanks again and Merry Christmas! :)**


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